June 23, 2025 – A Study of Matthew – From Crying to Feasting

From Crying to Feasting

Psalm 107:17-22 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ Some became fools through their rebellious ways
    and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
¹⁸ They loathed all food
    and drew near the gates of death.
¹⁹ Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he saved them from their distress.
²⁰ He sent out his word and healed them;
    he rescued them from the grave.
²¹ Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
    and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
²² Let them sacrifice thank offerings
    and tell of his works with songs of joy.

How did “some” become fools (verse 17)?

Why did they suffer affliction (verse 17)?

What did they draw near to (verse 18)?

Who did they cry to (verse 19)?

What (who) did the Lord send to heal them (verse 20)?

What did He rescue them from (verse 20)?

Why should they “give thanks to the Lord” (verse 21)?

What should they “sacrifice” (verse 22)?

How should they “tell of his works” (verse 22)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about crying out to the Lord?

Matthew 8:1-13 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. ² A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

³ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. ⁴ Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

⁵ When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. ⁶ “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

⁸ The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. ¹¹ I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. ¹² But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

¹³ Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.

Who followed Jesus from the mountainside (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why did the man with leprosy ask to be made clean instead of healed (verse 2)?

What was Jesus’s physical response to the man (verse 3)?

Why was the man to go to the priest and “offer the gift Moses commanded” (verse 4)?

Who came to Jesus in Capernaum (verse 5)?

What was wrong with the servant (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus ask “shall I come and heal him” (verse 7)?

What was the centurion’s response (verse 8)?

What did the centurion say he was “under” (verse 9)?

Why was Jesus “amazed” (verse 10)?

Where will many come from to “take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (verse 11)?

What will happen to “the subjects of the kingdom” (verse 12)?

When was the servant healed (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about crying out to the Lord?

In your opinion, what is demonstrated in Jesus’s interaction with both the leper and the centurion in Matthew 8:1-13 that Psalm 107:17-22 foretells?

1 John 1:5-10 - New International Version (NIV)

⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

What is the message “we have heard from him and declare to you” (verse 5)?

When do “we lie and do not live out the truth” (verse 6)?

When do we “have fellowship with one another” (verse 7)?

What “purifies us from all sin” (verse 7)?

When do we “deceive ourselves” (verse 8)?

What happens when we “confess our sins” (verse 9)?

How do we make him out to be a liar” (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about crying out to the Lord?

In your opinion, what do the people that Psalm 107:17-22 is written about have in common with those reading 1 John 1:5-10?

In your opinion, how is Jesus healing the unclean in Matthew 8:1-13 similar to and different from the purification in 1 John 1:5-10?

Revelation 15:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. ² And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God ³ and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:

“Great and marvelous are your deeds,
    Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
    King of the nations.
⁴ Who will not fear you, Lord,
    and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
    and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

⁵ After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened. ⁶ Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. ⁷ Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. ⁸ And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

Why were these the “seven last plagues” (verse 1)?

Who was “standing beside the sea” (verse 2)?

What song were they singing (verse 3)?

Why will all nations “come and worship” (verse 4)?

What was opened in heaven (verse 5)?

Where did the “seven angels with the seven plagues” come from (verse 6)?

What filled the “seven golden bowls” (verse 7)?

Why could no one enter the temple (verse 8)?

When would people be able to enter the temple (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about crying out to the Lord?

In your opinion, how do those rescued from the grave in Psalm 107:17-22 anticipate those who are victorious in Revelation 15:1-8?

In your opinion, what does Revelation 15:1-8 help us understand about the feast that Jesus says will take place in heaven in Matthew 8:1-13?

In your opinion, what does 1 John 1:5-10 help us understand about how those proclaimed as victorious in Revelation 15:1-8 achieved their victories over “the beast and its image and over the number of its name”?

In your opinion, what is the role of faith in all who receive healing or victory in the Scriptures from Psalms, Matthew, 1 John, and Revelation?

In your opinion, how can we take our “places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

June 15, 2025 – A Study of Matthew – What are We Building

What are We Building

Ezekiel 13:8-16 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am against you, declares the Sovereign Lord. ⁹ My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.

¹⁰ “‘Because they lead my people astray, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash, ¹¹ therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. ¹² When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?”

¹³ “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury. ¹⁴ I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the Lord. ¹⁵ So I will pour out my wrath against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. I will say to you, “The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it, ¹⁶ those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign Lord.”’

Why is the Sovereign Lord against the false prophets of Israel (verse 8)?

Who will the Lord’s hand be against (verse 9)?

What kind of wall do the false prophets build (verse 10)?

What do they cover the wall with (verse 10)?

Who is Ezekiel to tell that the wall “is going to fall” (verse 11)?

What will people ask “when the wall collapses” (verse 12)?

What will the Sovereign Lord unleash (verse 13)?

When will the false prophets “know that I am the Lord” (verse 14)?

What will be poured out “against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash” (verse 15)?

Who “saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace” (verse 16)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what is revealed about the people in this passage by what they built?

Matthew 7:24-29 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹ because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Who is “like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (verse 24)?

Why did the rain, streams and wind not cause the house to fall (verse 25)?

Who is “like a foolish man who built his house on sand” (verse 26)?

What happened to the house built on sand when “the rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against” it (verse 27)?

How did the crowds react to Jesus as He finished the Sermon on the Mount (verse 28)?

How did Jesus teach (verse 29)?

Who did Jesus not teach like (verse 29)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what is revealed about the people in this passage by what they built?

In your opinion, what do the false prophets of Ezekiel 13:8-16 and the foolish man in Matthew 7:24-29 have in common?

Acts 4:1-12 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. ² They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. ³ They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. ⁴ But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.

⁵ The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. ⁶ Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. ⁷ They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, ¹⁰ then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹ Jesus is

“‘the stone you builders rejected,
    which has become the cornerstone.’

¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Who did “the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees” come up to while they were speaking to the people (verse 1)?

Why were they “greatly disturbed” (verse 2)?

What did they do to Peter and John (verse 3)?

How many men believed (verse 4)?

Where did “the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law” meet (verse 5)?

Who else was at the meeting (verse 6)?

What question did they ask Peter and John (verse 7)?

How was Peter filled (verse 8)?

What were they being “called to account” for (verse 9)?

How did Peter say “this man stands before you healed” (verse 10)?

What is Jesus (verse 11)?

Who is salvation found in (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what is revealed about the people in this passage by what they built?

In your opinion, where does the whitewashed wall of Ezekiel 13:8-16 show up in Acts 4:1-12?

In your opinion, where in Acts 4:1-12 do you see examples of building on the sand and building on the rock that Jesus talked about in Matthew 7:24-29?

1 Peter 2:4-10 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
    a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
    will never be put to shame.”

⁷ Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,”

⁸ and,

“A stone that causes people to stumble
    and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Who is “rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him” (verse 4)?

What are those “like living stones” being built into (verse 5)?

Who “will never be put to shame” (verse 6)?

What has “become the cornerstone” to those who do not believe (verse 7)?

What does the stone do to those who do not believe (verse 8)?

Who is to “declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (verse 9)?

What are “you” (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what is revealed about the people in this passage by what they built?

In your opinion, why would the false prophets who built the whitewashed wall of Ezekiel 13:8-16 stumble over the cornerstone of 1 Peter 2:4-10?

In your opinion, what does 1 Peter 2:4-10 teach us about the rock that the wise man in Matthew 7:24-29 was building on?

In your opinion, how does 1 Peter 2:4-10 expand on his response to the “rulers and elders of the people” in Acts 4:1-12?

In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from Ezekiel, Matthew, Acts, and 1 Peter teach us about how to determine what is whitewashed wall and what is built on the cornerstone of Jesus?

In your opinion, how can we wisely build a rock solid “house” today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

June 8, 2025 – A Study of Matthew – Good Trees and Narrow Gates

Good Trees and Narrow Gates

Jeremiah 23:13-22 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ “Among the prophets of Samaria
    I saw this repulsive thing:
They prophesied by Baal
    and led my people Israel astray.
¹⁴ And among the prophets of Jerusalem
    I have seen something horrible:
    They commit adultery and live a lie.
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,
    so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.
They are all like Sodom to me;
    the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”

¹⁵ Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets:

“I will make them eat bitter food
    and drink poisoned water,
because from the prophets of Jerusalem
    ungodliness has spread throughout the land.”

¹⁶ This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
    they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds,
    not from the mouth of the Lord.
¹⁷ They keep saying to those who despise me,
    ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’
And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts
    they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’
¹⁸ But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord
    to see or to hear his word?
    Who has listened and heard his word?
¹⁹ See, the storm of the Lord
    will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind swirling down
    on the heads of the wicked.
²⁰ The anger of the Lord will not turn back
    until he fully accomplishes
    the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
    you will understand it clearly.
²¹ I did not send these prophets,
    yet they have run with their message;
I did not speak to them,
    yet they have prophesied.
²² But if they had stood in my council,
    they would have proclaimed my words to my people
and would have turned them from their evil ways
    and from their evil deeds.

What “repulsive thing” did Jeremiah see in the prophets of Samaria (verse 13)?

Who committed adultery and lived a lie while strengthening “the hands of evildoers, so that not one of them turns from their wickedness” (verse 14)?

What is the source of the ungodliness that “spread throughout the land” (verse 15)?

Where do the visions that the prophets speak come from (verse 16)?

What do the prophets say to “all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts” (verse 17)?

What will “burst out in wrath” (verse 19)?

When will “the anger of the Lord” turn back (verse 20)?

What have the prophets that the Lord did not send “run with” (verse 21)?

What would the prophets have proclaimed if “they had stood in my council” (verse 22)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what challenge to following God is exhibited in this passage?

Matthew 7:13-23 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

¹⁵ “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

What is the gate that “many enter through” like (verse 13)?

How many find the gate and road that “leads to life” (verse 14)?

What are false prophets on the outside (verse 15)?

How can we recognize false prophets (verse 16)?

What kind of fruit will a bad tree bear (verse 17)?

What kind of fruit can’t a bad tree bear (verse 18)?

What happens to trees that do not bear good fruit (verse 19)?

Who will enter the “kingdom of heaven” (verse 21)?

What will Jesus tell many of the people who say “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?” (verses 22 and 23)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what challenge to following God is exhibited in this passage?

In your opinion, how do the prophets in Jeremiah 23:13-22 validate Jesus’s instructions about recognizing false prophets in Matthew 7:13-23?

1 John 4:1-6 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

⁴ You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. ⁵ They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

Why should Christians “test the spirits” (verse 1)?

How can we “recognize the Spirit of God” (verse 2)?

Where is the “spirit of the antichrist” (verse 3)?

How have Christians overcome the false prophets (verse 4)?

Who does the world listen to (verse 5)?

Who listens to John (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what challenge to following God is exhibited in this passage?

In your opinion, what test does 1 John 4:1-6 reveal to help determine false prophets that the people who heard the false prophets of Jeremiah 23:13-22 did not have?

In your opinion, what is the difference between those in Matthew 7:13-23 who say “Lord, Lord” and those in 1 John 4:1-6 who declare “that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh”?

James 1:19-27 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰ because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. ²¹ Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

²² Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³ Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴ and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

²⁶ Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. ²⁷ Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Who “should be quick to listen” (verse 19)?

What does human anger not produce (verse 20)?

How should we “accept the word planted” in us (verse 21)?

In your opinion, how can merely listening “to the word” deceive us (verse 22)?

What is someone who “listens to the word but does not do what it says” like (verses 23 & 24)?

Who is “blessed in what they do” (verse 25)?

Whose “religion is worthless” (verse 26)?

What religion does God accept “as pure and faultless” (verse 27)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what challenge to following God is exhibited in this passage?

In your opinion, how do the actions of the prophets in Jeremiah 23:13-22 compare to the people who only listen to “the word” in James 1:19-27?

In your opinion, how does James 1:19-27 help us better understand the small gate and narrow road of Matthew 7:13-23?

In your opinion, how does 1 John 4:1-6 help us understand that James 1:19-27’s instruction to look “intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do” is more than works based salvation?

In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from Jeremiah, Matthew, 1 John, and James teach us about how to identify and overcome the external and internal challenges of being a Christian?

In your opinion, how can we each be a “good tree” today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)